Pressure, Apprehension and Hope as India's financial capital Slum Dwellers Await the Bulldozers

Across several weeks, coercive communications persisted. Initially, allegedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a former defense officer, subsequently from the authorities. In the end, one resident asserts he was ordered to the local precinct and warned explicitly: remain silent or face serious consequences.

Shaikh is one of many resisting a multimillion-dollar project where one of India's largest slums – a massive informal community with rich history – is scheduled to be bulldozed and transformed by a multinational conglomerate.

"The culture of this area is unparalleled in the planet," says the protester. "However they want to dismantle our way of life and stop us speaking out."

Opposing Environments

The dank gullies of the slum present a dramatic difference to the soaring skyscrapers and luxury apartments that dominate the neighborhood. Dwellings are constructed informally and typically without proper sanitation, unregulated industries produce dangerous fumes and the air is filled with the unpleasant stench of exposed drainage.

To some, the promise of a renewed Dharavi into a modern district of luxury high-rises, organized recreational areas, contemporary malls and residences with proper sanitation is a hopeful vision come true.

"We lack sufficient health services, paved pathways or water management and there are no spaces for kids to enjoy," states A Selvin Nadar, in his fifties, who relocated from his home state in 1982. "The sole solution is to tear it all down and provide modern residences."

Community Resistance

However, some, such as this protester, are opposing the project.

Everyone acknowledges that the slum, long neglected as unauthorized settlement, is desperately requiring economic input and modernization. But they fear that this project – without resident participation – is one that will turn valuable urban land into a playground for the rich, forcing out the disadvantaged, migrant communities who have resided there since generations ago.

It was these shunned, relocated individuals who built up the uninhabited area into a widely studied marvel of community resilience and business activity, whose output is valued at between a significant amount and two million dollars a year, making it one of the world's largest unregulated sectors.

Relocation Worries

Of the roughly 1 million inhabitants living in the packed 220-hectare zone, a minority will be able for new homes in the development, which is projected to take seven years to finish. The remainder will be relocated to undeveloped zones and salt plains on the distant periphery of the metropolis, risking divide a long-established neighborhood. Some will be denied homes at all.

Residents permitted to stay in Dharavi will be allocated flats in tower blocks, a significant rupture from the natural, collective approach of living and working that has maintained the community for many years.

Commercial activities from garment work to pottery and material recovery are likely to decrease in quantity and be relocated to a designated "industrial sector" far from residential areas.

Survival Challenge

For those such as this protester, a craftsman and multi-generational inhabitant to call home Dharavi, the redevelopment presents an existential threat. His informal, three-storey facility makes leather coats – tailored coats, premium outerwear, studded bomber jackets – distributed in high-end shops in upscale neighborhoods and overseas.

Relatives dwells in the rooms downstairs and his workers and garment workers – migrants from north India – reside on-site, allowing him to afford their labour. Outside the slum, Mumbai rents are typically significantly as high for basic accommodation.

Pressure and Coercion

At the administrative buildings nearby, a visual representation of the transformation initiative depicts a contrasting perspective. Slickly dressed people move around on bicycles and eco-friendly transport, acquiring western-style baguettes and pastries and enlisting beverages on a terrace near a restaurant and treat station. This depicts a complete departure from the affordable idli sambar first meal and 5-rupee chai that maintains Dharavi's community.

"This is not progress for our community," explains the artisan. "It represents an enormous real estate deal that will render it impossible for us to survive."

Furthermore, there's concern of the development company. Run by a powerful tycoon – among the country's wealthiest and an associate of the national leader – the corporation has encountered allegations of favoritism and ethical concerns, which it denies.

While administrative bodies calls it a collaborative effort, the developer contributed $950m for its majority share. A lawsuit claiming that the initiative was questionably assigned to the business group is under review in the nation's highest judicial body.

Continued Intimidation

From when they initiated to publicly resist the development, protesters and community members claim they have been experienced ongoing efforts of coercion and warning – involving messages, explicit warnings and suggestions that opposing the project was comparable with anti-national sentiment – by people they allege represent the business conglomerate.

Among those suspected of issuing the threats is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c